German Language Courses

German language course introduction

Willkommen Bel Deutsch!

German is the main language of Germany and Austria it’s also spoken in Switzerland (most of the country), Luxemburg, in small pockets in countries neighbouring Germany or Austria (Belgium, Italy etc.), Namibia; widely spoken in eastern Europe and the Balkans as a second language. The number of mother-tongue speakers worldwide is about 110,000,000!

Why learn German?

German is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.

Germany has the largest economy in the EU, and is an industrial giant on the world stage. Companies and organisations from Siemens to Carl Zeiss, BMW and the Deutsche Bank have formidable reputations world-wide.

German technology and know-how are widely respected around the world, and organisational skills are immediately apparent when one visits any of the German-speaking countries.

New Zealand has to engage more with the German-speaking world if it is to establish a stronger base for its exports in Europe.

Young Kiwis can go and work in Germany for one year under a working holiday scheme. A knowledge of the German language would obviously help enormously on this particular OE!

Some of the big cities such as Berlin are among the liveliest in Europe, with an enormous range of events throughout the year, many of them geared to the younger population.

Young people in Germany seem to be on the same kind of wavelength as young Kiwis; they usually get on well.

The Germans and the Swiss come to New Zealand in large numbers – and usually love it!

Germans are usually very environmentally aware, and are often innovators in green issues.

Germany has a rich cultural heritage, and has made huge contributions to world literature, painting, music and philosophy.

The German-speaking world has produced thinkers whose ideas have changed the way people look at the world: from Luther to Marx, to Einstein and to Freud.

People are often surprised by the beauty of the German countryside, with its dense forests and deep valleys, also by the charms of its many historical towns and villages. Austria and Switzerland have wonderful mountain landscapes. And with extensive hiking trails, all three countries are a tramper’s paradise!

Is German hard?

German and English are cousins, descended from the same language!

A lot of words are similar in the two languages, especially those for everyday things (no prizes for guessing the meanings of “Butter”, “Haus”, “Schuh” or “braun”!).

There are some striking similarities in the grammar: English has “I sing”, “I sang” and “I have sung”; German has “ich singe”, “ich sang” and “ich habe gesungen”!

German pronunciation is not that hard, although there are a few unfamiliar sounds.

The German language is spelt largely as it is pronounced.

German grammar can seem a bit tough, largely because it is an inflected language, with a lot of different endings on words. But even if you get the endings wrong, you will still be understood, and after a while they tend to become second nature. Also, in the early stages, you can avoid a lot of the harder grammatical points.

German word order may seem rather strange and takes a bit of getting used to – everything can seem jumbled up!

There are a lot of dialects in German, but everyone also speaks standard German (“High German” - “Hochdeutsch”). Swiss German is pretty much a different language, but everyone in Switzerland is also familiar with High German.

If you know German, you can very easily pick up Dutch, and you would have a good start in learning many of the Scandinavian languages; even the grammar of Russian makes more sense!.

About Euroasia Language Academy

Euroasia Language Academy offers Asian and European language courses. The small interactive language classes, with no more than 10 people, allows for personal attention from the teachers and real student participation.